Ahhhh...

So, I just got back from my hot stone massage, and thats about all I can say...ahhh. It was great. I have had a full body massage before, but had always wanted to try the hot stone massage. So, my mom got me a gift certificate for one back in March. I kinda kept putting it off til I lost some weight, a little embarassing to have to be naked under a towel when you're at you're highest weight ever. But, it had really already expired and I thought I would be nice and use it in the same year it was bought. Anyways, it feels like I just had an hour and a half of total relaxation. It felt like I even stopped thinking, which for me, is amazing. She massaged with her hands, then the stones, then hands again. At first, the stones were really hot, but then it was just heavenly. It was like the heat and the stone just melted my muscles...ahhh. She massaged my feet as well, but due to the still banged up toe, I told her it was best to leave that foot alone. She did this one thing with the foot, and it was like after that, my foot didn't care anymore. It felt so good. I think my right foot was a little jealous that it didn't get the same treatment. I have decided that I am going to have some sort of massage as a reward for the next weight loss goal I set.

And on to weight, WI was today and.....I lost 2.2!! So, I'm not completely to the 10 lb goal but I'm close enough. I am at 9.8! So, I feel really proud of myself, I met the first goal. So, now on to the next goal. I guess that will be the 10% goal, which is another 14 lbs. I don't know yet if I am going to put a deadline on it, we'll see.

Tonight is Christmas for us, so I'm ultra super excited. I think my mind knows it has been over a year since I had Christmas, so I'm ready yesterday to open my presents. It's also my dad's birthday and Clemson's bowl game, so it should be fun. I'm excited!

Little Victory

So, I have had a very limited wardrobe in the last couple months, especially pants-wise. Now thats its cold, I basically had one pair of jeans that I wore out and 2 dress pants that I would wear to work. Well, tonight I was going to the movies with Melanie and my jeans were still wet and in the dryer...so I had to think of something else. So, I figured I could give some of my other pairs of jeans a shot. The ones I had been wearing were a size 22, and I found one that was a 20. I hadn't been able to button them in quite some time. I put them on, and my first thought was...they're still tight. But, they buttoned and zipped! I wore a looser shirt with them and they're really not that tight. Still a little snug...but better than they used to be!! So, yay a little victory for me. I weigh in tomorrow and find out if I meet my goal of 10 lbs in Dec. I'm currently at 7.6, so it would have to be 2.4 loss, but I won't be upset if I don't get it. I figure as long as I don't gain weight this week, I'll still be proud of myself. I lost 7.6 in three weeks and that is really great.
Movie update - we went to see PS I love you. It was really really good, but if you go to see it, take tissues, trust me. I left looking HORRIBLE! I cried through most of the movie and I definitely looked it. But, it was really good, and I think its one I want to have on DVD when it comes out!

Bam!

So, I was definitely not good yesterday. We went and had dinner with some of my parents friends. I probably did better than I could have, but not that good. I definitely used all my 35 points. I tried to guess and add it up, but its almost pointless. I had some cheese and crackers, and carrots (I tried to be good). I didn't too bad at dinner, turkey, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and salad. I had a little bit of each and then a little bit more potatoes and turkey. I probably should have gone without the seconds...but it was really good, and I didn't get that much the first time. Then, probably the worst thing I had was bread pudding. Although I probably only had half a cup maybe a little more...we found that a cup of bread pudding is 13 points...not good. And I had 2 very small pieces of bread with frosting that my mom made. I had several glasses of wine and a glass of creme de menthe, which was probably bad as well. One of the weighers at the last meeting said that she calls her 35 points her bam points. She uses them all in one day at the beginning of the week and "bams" her system into gear. She said it works for her, so we will see. Mom and I decided we definitely bammed our points all at one time.
I saw some good movies this week, kinda went on a renting spree. I didn't have anything to do, and I everything I tried bored me, so I figured I would watch some movies and then maybe it would at least feel like something happened. Here's what I watched:
Pirates, At World's End - very good (anyone else see another possible sequel there?)
Harry Potter, Order of the Pheonix - can't go wrong with Harry Potter in my eyes
License to Wed - just ok, the humor was a little risque I think, a little disrespectful for religion, and I'm normally all for funny stuff like that
Bug - um...just creepy I would have to say...yeah...just creepy
Reign Over Me - really good, really sad
Stardust - really really good, my kind of movie, fantasy, not realistic at all which is what I like...awesome.
I also saw the Golden Compass recently, and it was really good too.
Anybody seen anything good recently?

Oh yeah, its Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone, although it could not feel less like Christmas. Danny and Sara area at Sara's parents and Mat and Melanie are at Melanie's parents...so right now, its my parents, me, and a lot of animals. Its the first year that we haven't had at least Mat and Melanie here in a long time. We are actually having Xmas with them on New Year's Eve, and with Danny and Sara that next weekend in Ohio. Its not really that sad, we are still having Christmas, just not on Christmas.

On the weight front, we weighed in yesterday, and I lost 2.2! I was really happy with that, since I only lost .4 last week. I did lose a point per day though, I think I can handle it. We had been going to the 6:00 meetings on Mondays, but they cancelled those for Christmas eve and New Year's Eve. So, we had to go to the 12:00, which has a different leader. She's one of the ladies that weighs us in at 6, so we knew her. I like her sooooo much better. I think we are going to switch meetings. I left feeling so motivated from this meeting. Normally, at 6, I would spend the whole meeting staring at the leader, wondering if that was a wig or just really weird hair. She was very annoying, fake, super happy. She had these Christmas sweaters that she wore, kinda like teachers would. Ugh, she was annoying. This 12:00 meeting was so much better. She talked about how easy it is to focus on the bad, how we ate something we should'nt have or didn't exercise. And that, we needed to start focusing on the good. I kept thinking about how I sat with an entire box of doughnuts next to me all day long and only ate half of one. Now, I could say, "I gave in and ate half a doughnut" or I could say "I only ate half a doughnut when I normally would have eaten 3 or 4." She also mentioned something she had done for her husband once. She wrote down something good that he did everyday for a year, from one Christmas to the next and gave it to him for Christmas. My mom and I thought that was really neat, so we may start something like that for ourselves. Anyway, hope everyone else's WI goes as well, and that everyone has a very merry Christmas!!

The toe

Thought I would share with everyone the loveliness that is my toe...little blurry, and don't pay attention to the foot itself :)

Blah

So, a quick catch-up here. I only lost .4 lbs at WI on Monday (yeah, I know, its still a loss and not a gain...blah, blah, blah). I knew all week it wasn't going to be much so it wasn't a surprise. I lost 5 the first week, so I guess I can't complain too much. It is a little discouraging when you stay within points all week, and even exercise twice...and .4 is what happens. Yuck! This week didn't start off too great. I went car shopping with Mat and Melanie on Tuesday and we went out to eat. We went to El Porton, and their menu is hugamongus (my own private word there), so I had no idea what to eat. I got the mushroom quesadillas which were probably an ok option, but even though I asked for them to go light on the cheese, they didn't. Plus I ate some chips since I was starving, so not too great. So, I just will have to be really good the rest of the week. And that brings me to the next bad thing...the last patient just brought in a box of fresh doughnuts. A whole dozen for me and the doctor who is a vegetarian and doesn't eat sweets....ugh...and they smell sooooo good. I'm gonna have to try and give them away to patients.
Last night, I stubbed my toe, and I'm pretty sure I broke it. It was hurting so bad, all night. My dad taped it up for me and it seems to help a bit, but I still can't put any weight on it, and it hurts off and on. I slept horribly last night, just kept waking up. Its pouring rain outside and I really want one of these doughnuts. Blah, I mean seriously...blah.

Wondering

So, I was reading Hamilton's blog who just received a new kidney (yay!) and he was talking about wondering who the donor was. Well, that got me thinking about my dad's parents. See, my dad was adopted. I am (it seems) the only one interested in who they were. I have never heard my dad talk about them, which is fine. But, for some reason, every now and then it bugs me. Like, what were their names? Because that would be my last name. Where were they from? Would I still be Irish and German, or would some new nationality be thrown in there? What were they like and did I get any of those aspects? Its not something that gnaws away at me, but every now and then, it pops up, and I wonder...
But, anyways...such is life I suppose. And, I can't imagine being in Hamilton's shoes, having a piece of someone else inside of you. That's heavy.

Here is the food journal from Saturday...exciting, yes, I know.






And here is the one from Sunday. I wasn't incredibly good. We went out to eat as we usually do on Sundays. According to DWLZ, what I ate was only 23 points. I have a really hard time believing that. We went to Red Robin and I had the Whiskey River BBQ Burger and its fantastic...but she says its 23 points for the burger AND fries. I'm not so sure about that, but I didn't eat all the fries, so I figure even if it was more, then it just went into the weekly points.

Wasted

Well, there goes another half a day wasted. Yup, I slept from 12 to 12 again. I hate it, but I can't seem to make myself get out of bed. Oh well, hopefully I will think of something. I don't have much to say today, but there is the food journal from yesterday. Oh, and I finally exercised! I took my dog for a walk, 30 minutes in the cold. It's raining today, so unless it clears up, that won't happen today. Maybe I can come up with something else to do.

Sleep...

...the bane of my existance. As Caroline wrote about laundry being her bane, mine is sleep. I have always had trouble with sleep, even when I was little. The problem is I think non-stop. And, its weird the things I think...like last night, I was thinking these very words that I'm typing. Its like I think in the past tense - like I'm telling someone else about whats happening in the future. Weird, huh? Or maybe its not weird, maybe everbody thinks like that, who knows. When I was little, I was always paranoid something would happen. Any little pain and I would think I was having a hear attack, and I would die in my sleep and no one would know, then I would start thinking about death...and on and on. (My mom says this is because of the ice storm when I was about 3 or 4, when the attic door next to my bed was banging, and I thought there was a bear family living in there, but who knows.) So, now I have been taking Melatonin to help me fall asleep. It really works, I mean 20 minutes after I take it, I can't keep myself awake. Which is what I have figured out I do...I keep myself awake for as long as possible. Because actually, I don't like sleeping (yeah, yeah, I know, me who sleeps all the time, doesn't like to sleep?) Here are some reasons why I hate to sleep...
1. I hate to waste time, and to me sleeping is the ultimate time waster.
2. There are so many other things I could be doing...crossword puzzles, puzzles, computer games, tv - you know, the important things.
3. Once I fall asleep, it is nearly impossible to get me up (many people can attest to this). I mean, I will make myself stay asleep...even if I have to pee really bad. Basically, once I'm asleep, I can't get enough of it.
I'm almost to the point where I hate taking the melatonin, because I know it will make me fall asleep, and then I will sleep forever. And, I hate sleeping til 12, I really do. I feel groggy afterwards...I waste more time...and its not the most enjoyable sleep. I normally hurt in parts of my body afterwards, from laying down so long. But, for some reason, its really hard for me to snap out of sleep. So, there is my sleep issue...and you see why I am trying to get my sleep to regular hours. Its not going so well. I pretty much sleep for 12 hours any day I don't have to get up. Any suggestions?

On the food front, I've been doing pretty good...but for some reason I don't feel good about this week. I feel fat this week (like I don't any other week). I've been within points, but it just doesn't feel like it. I am going to try and exercise today, and hopefully that will help. I finally took the time to figure out how to get the food journal in here...so here is yesterday. We went to Bogie's for lunch, which is my new favorite place, but what I ate wasn't the best choice (although it was the best - delicious!) I only had 5 pts left for dinner, but I managed, and I only used 1 extra point. I really wasn't hungry either, so, I was proud. Also, the 100 calorie pack hostess cakes (which are 1 point!) are fabulous for those of you on WW. They are small, but they're the real thing, so very good! Alright, enough for today!

End of Week 1

Alright, so the first week is over and it went really well. I was really proud of myself, I stuck to my points and didn't even use my 35 weekly points. I lost exactly 5 pounds! I'm really happy with that (even though my mom lost 6), but I'm worried it will get harder. This Christmas may not be too hard since everybody is going to the other set of parents this year. I don't know of too many events I have to go to, and my mom most likely isn't making cookies this year. I'll really miss those cookies, but if they were here, I would eat them all. The first Christmas temptation arrived in the mail today. We got the sausage sampler from Hickory Farms, and I absolutely love that sausage. However, the first thing I did was label it all with what the point value was. It's not so good. The only thing that's good is the honey mustard, and some of the cheese is ok. The turkey stick isn't too bad, but the rest is pretty bad. The sausage is 6 points for 2 oz. Yuck. Guess that's a temptation that I will have to deal with on a regular basis for awhile. I also know that since I lost so much weight this week, I have to work extra hard this week to lose. Hopefully, I can get some exercise in, which I haven't done any of so far. I was going to ride my bike the other day, but it started raining and then it kinda left my mind. So hopefully this week, we will have some nice days that I'm not too busy.
School starts Jan 8th, so I am trying to savor every day that I don't have to worry about that. I'm definitely not looking forward to schoolwork again. But, I really want it done. So, we'll see.

Alright, already!

Ok, so, people are yelling at me to do more entries. Sorry, I've said I'm not that great at keeping up with it. But, lets see, I've been really good the last couple of days. I'm actually really proud of myself. Last night I went to Huey's with some friends, and I only had 16 points to use so before I left I planned out what was the best thing to eat. I didn't really want to go into my 35 weekly flex points. I had the fiesta chicken wrap, which is a pita with grilled chicken, cheese, and ranch, and its served with tortilla chips (which I normally don't eat). I figured that was the best option, estimating around 14 or 15 points. So, when Emily ordered a drink, I considered getting a beer, but I got water instead (Yay #1). Then, I only used like half the ranch that came with it (Yay #2). I did have a few tortilla chips, but only a few, and then thankfully the waitress took them away. Then everybody ordered dessert and I didn't (YAY #3). So, I was really proud of myself. I told my mom that had I not been watching my food, I probably would have eaten something before I left, because I was starving, and then I would have eaten all the tortilla chips, gotten a dessert and eaten it all, and probably had 2 beers. So, much better than what I would've done.
Then today, we all went to On the Border before Melanie took off out of town. My mom and I knew we needed to decided what to eat before we got there, so we went to Dottie's weight loss zone and printed off the list of food and points. (That is a great website for those of you using points, by the way). On the Border, not the best place to eat at all...we did find a couple of things that weren't too bad. My mom had the Baja Chicken, I think she ended up using 17 points or so. I had the lunch chicken fajitas (7 pts + 4 pts for 3 flour tortillas + 4 pts for sour cream and cheese). I had like 3 spoonfuls of rice and NO CHIPS! Go me! So, I used 16 pts and still have 14 left for dinner. Plus, when I left I felt better than I ever have leaving there. I wasn't stuffed at all...it was great. I will have to remember that feeling.
So, all is well so far. I think I might take a bike ride today, since it is 75 degrees outside. Weigh-in is tomorrow, so we will see how well I really did. I better lose something or its going to be really disappointing.
I'm also scheduled for 2 classes in January, one online and one at the center one night a week. I'm a little scared about starting classes, that there might be a lot of work for them. So, I think I might go ahead and order the book for the one class at the center and maybe start reading it before class starts (which sounds really weird, I'm sure, as I have never done anything like that in my life). But, I wanna be prepared and maybe create less work for myself during the semester.

Alright, so I didn't post yesterday, mainly because I didn't have time. I worked 8-7, then went over to Emily and Greg's to watch the Memphis game. We just barely won (62-58), but we were really close to my guess for the final score (60-58). I still haven't had a chance to look at the best way to get the food chart into my blog, and since I'm not at home to get it anyways, I am just going to post it without the chart. And, check it out I had beer and stayed in my points :)

Day 2 - Point Total 30
3/4 cup cereal.........................3.....................................27
1/2 cup milk............................2.....................................25
granola bar..............................2.....................................23
turkey......................................2.....................................21
cheese......................................1......................................20
bread........................................1......................................19
Salad w/ lite Ranch.................2.....................................17
Pretzels....................................2......................................15
granola bar..............................2......................................13
Cube Steak..............................4......................................9
Broccoli....................................0......................................9
Salad w/ lite Ranch................2......................................7
3 lite Beers..............................6......................................1
Flex Points - Still 35 left
Water - 68 oz

All in all, I would call that a pretty good day. And, the beer is not a normal thing, but I'm surprised that I kept it within the daily points. Goody for me. And, I will try to get the chart thing figured out, but I have to make time for it. Right now, all my time at home has to spent watching tv. And yes, it has to be spent watching tv...I know that sounds wrong, but we are having a tv issue. My parents are about to take the box in to get a new one, because Comcast says it has to be our box. Well, that means that everything that has been taped on DVR, has to be watched. So now, especially since I wasn't home last night, I have to go home and figure out which ones I can watch online and watch the rest of them, so they can take the box in to get a new one. I know, its a major dilemma.

I also lowered my exercise goal for December. I was talking to my mom, and we figured it was probably a lot to start out with. Going from nothing to 30 minutes every day is kindof a jump, so we decided maybe just go 15 minutes a day. That way, if I miss a day (or 5, since I haven't done anything yet) I can exercise 30 another day to make up for it. I think 500 minutes in December isn't quite so daunting.

Also, my mom and I took before pictures and took our measurements Monday when we started WW. I figure since this is going to be the time I lose 90 lbs, I want to document it.

Day 1

My mom and I started Weight Watchers today. The weigh-in went about as expected. 235.6. It is definitely painful to type that. Its the first time my weight has been known by anyone but me in quite some time. And its the last time it will be embarassing. I don't really feel like writing much today, but I still have a few points left for the day. I'm still figuring out how to post the food journal in the easiest way possible. I will post it later tonight or tomorrow.